Council Priority: Develop a vision for parks and public spaces to improve quality of life and attract residents –

Public Works Department applies for State Ecology Grant: The Public Works Department applied for a state Department of Ecology grant to help fund the preparation of a management plan for Waughop Lake located within Ft. Steilacoom Park. The total cost to prepare the management plan is estimated at $200,000 for which the grant, if we’re successful, would pay $150,000 thereof. Notice was received this week that our Waughop Lake management plan project made the draft list of projects recommended for funding. The draft list is subject to public review and comment through March 20th. It’s also subject to passage of the state and federal budgets. A final list will be published on July 1st.

Council Priority: Sustain regional leadership and coordination role with military partners -

City Staff Meet with JBLM Officials on Lake City Traffic: Staff from the City Manager’s Office and Public Works met with senior JBLM staff on February 15 to discuss traffic mitigation measures where traffic from North Gate Road enters Lakewood’s Lake City neighborhood. JBLM agreed to allow the City to post signage on their property (“Reduced Speed Ahead” and “No Right Turn 4-6pm”) just before Nottingham Rd – the first intersection in Lakewood. The City will install this signage around March 15. The City and JBLM will work cooperatively on an “informational campaign” to advise commuters of the pending change and will also work together to pursue federal “Defense Access Road” (DAR) funding to fix an intersection in Lake City that generates the backups (Northgate and Edgewood Ave). The DAR funding request is at least a two-year process. City staff will provide an update to the Lake City neighborhood in March.

Other items of interest:

Congressman Heck Signs Lease with City Hall: Effective March 1, Congressman Denny Heck’s office will lease conference room 3B from the City of Lakewood. The lease will be in effect until early January 2015 (members of the US House can only enter agreements for the duration of their 2-year terms). Congressman Heck has a larger staff presence at the Lacey City Hall. He wanted a Lakewood presence due to Lakewood’s proximity to JBLM and a forum to meet with Pierce County constituents. Heck’s staff plans to keep regular office hours that will mirror City Hall’s hours (8:30am to 5pm, Monday-Friday).

Lakewood participates in City Legislative Action Conference: On February 13, Councilmember Barth and Communications Director Brewster attended the annual City Legislative Action Conference in Olympia sponsored by the Association of Washington Cities. They also met with members of the Lakewood delegation including Senator Conway and Representatives Green, Sawyer, and Kirby. They received constructive updates on city priorities including the Camp Murray Annexation (i.e. clarification of which state entity can negotiate state military land annexations), Western State Hospital community policing funding, capital funding requests, and potential city sharing of state-collected liquor taxes.

2012 Year End Report: Staff has finalized the 2012 Year End Report. It will be posted to the City’s website next week and mailed to all Lakewood residences and businesses before the end of February.